DIY *Simple* Vegan Healing Salve

I’m OBSESSED with DIY salve. In the summer, before I leave the house, you’ll find me sitting at the kitchen table lathering up my legs, arms, and face. I walk into the world looking fly and feeling like silk. It’s a ritual that even my kids have started to participate in, my son always trying to palm some salve when no one is looking (which is fine because it is non-toxic AND edible!).

And in the winter?

Salve prevents my skin from drying out, using it post shower to make sure it stays smooth and healthy. My husband will also use it for windburn after working outside in freeeezing cold temperatures on a difficult day (he’s such a trooper!).

I used to buy oils to moisturize my skin, because I didn’t want to spend money on toxic mainstream lotions. Yet using oils didn’t do much either- they worked in the summer, but wouldn’t absorb well in the winter. It left my hands feeling very dry and uncomfortable.

Then I started making my own salves, opting for healing ingredients such as cocoa butter and herbs, and viola! Problem solved. It works wonders for your skin, is healthy, and SIMPLE to make. I’ve only done this a few times but once you do it, you’ll always be able to!

Many people spend big money on beauty products that you can make right in your own kitchen, without a lot of prep. All you really need is a crock pot, and it does virtually all the work!

Cocoa Butter VS. Beeswax

Most salves I’ve seen use beeswax, but I really wanted to try making a salve without relying on that particular ingredient.

I bought cocoa butter after reading about some benefits online (thanks Google!). The unrefined, food grade cocoa butter is basically pure fat, but it is a great moisturizer and antioxidant. It also helps reduce stretch marks!

When I received it, I knew it would be a great substitute for beeswax because it was hard as a rock- I hoped that it would help balance the texture when mixed with the “easily melt-able” coconut oil…and it worked beautifully!

The only thing you should be aware about when saying no to beeswax is that you will be losing the preservative within the salve. I think if you keep your salve in a cool area, and use it in a reasonable time though, it should be fine!

A Note About Adding Herbs to Your Salve

For this particular salve, I used plantain and lavender right from my backyard. If you are foraging your own herbs (and you don’t plan on rinsing), make sure that you pick them on a dry afternoon, when it hasn’t rained in a couple of days. Wet herbs will have contained moisture, and that can be bad for your salve.

If you really want to rinse your herbs (totally understandable!), then make sure you dab them with a towel afterwards and let them sit out for a few hours (or overnight is best!), to make sure that they are dry and salve ready.

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DIY Simple Vegan Healing Salve

I’ve read, seen, and talked to different people about various salve methods. There is not a one-size-fits-all way to make a salve, and that’s wonderful to know as a beginning herbalist. Below is my own method that I’ve pulled together from multiple sources. I hope you enjoy it!

And of course, it’s important to note that you don’t have to use plantains and lavender- feel free to switch it up with rose, calendula, holy basil, chamomile, or whatever else your pretty little heart desires!

1 C fresh herbs of choice (for this recipe I used approximately 2/3 C plantains and 1/3 C lavender)

Crock pot with low and medium setting

Thermometer

Jars- this recipe makes approx. 18 oz of salve. That’s one FULL pint jar (plus a little leftover). You can use a large jar or break it up into smaller jars for gifts.

Directions:

1. Add the coconut oil and cocoa butter to the crock pot. Turn on low, uncovered, and let them both melt completely before adding herbs. This shouldn’t take very long!

2. Add your plant material (plantain and lavender, or other herbs of your choice!). You want to make sure that the herbs are completely covered with the oil by an inch.

3. Turn crock pot up to medium and cook, uncovered, for 2-3 hours. You can use your thermometer to make sure you are keeping the heat between 100-140 degrees. If the temperature is getting to high, turn your crock pot back down to low (you don’t want crispy herbs!).

4. After 2-3 hours, when the liquid is a nice green (see pictured), you can turn off the crock pot and transfer your liquid (carefully!). You can strain through a colander, into your jar OR place your jar in a bowl and carefully pour salve straight from pot into jar, squeezing (cooled!) herbs out with your fingers, so you get every last drop!

5. Let your jar cool at room temperature (see how lovely green it is!?). If it’s the summer, you’ll probably want to pop this is the refrigerator for a couple of hours so it can harden up. If it’s the winter, it may be so cold in your house that it does that anyway, or you can place it outside for a bit to cool it down and stiffen it up!

6. After you get it to harden, let it sit back out for about 30 minutes. I know, I know, hot, cold, hot cold, but listen carefully- once you got that initial hardening, you’re good to go. I keep my salve in my bedroom, because it’s the coldest room in the house, and my salve stays soft but never turns to liquid. It’s always perfect and ready to use.

Congrats! You just completed your healing salve!

Storage

Salves should be stored in a cool place, preferably 72 degrees so that it doesn’t go liquid again. If, for some reason, it does, just place it back in the fridge for a few minutes. That being said, don’t go all crazy with temperature shifts and your salve. I made the mistake of bringing my salve on vacation with me, causing it to spoil due to too many temperature changes. It definitely made me a sad panda! Keep your salve cool, and you will have nothing to worry about:) If you store this salve properly, it should last you 2-3 months.

1 C fresh herbs of choice (for this recipe I used approximately 2/3 C plantains and 1/3 C lavender)

Crock pot with low and medium setting

Thermometer

Jars- this recipe makes approx. 18 oz of salve. That's one FULL pint jar (plus a little leftover). You can use a large jar or break it up into smaller jars for gifts.

Instructions

Add the coconut oil and cocoa butter to the crock pot. Turn on low, uncovered, and let them both melt completely before adding herbs. This shouldn't take very long!

Add your plant material (plantain and lavender, or other herbs of your choice!). You want to make sure that the herbs are completely covered with the oil by an inch.

Turn crock pot up to medium and cook, uncovered, for 2-3 hours. You can use your thermometer to make sure you are keeping the heat between 100-140 degrees. If the temperature is getting to high, turn your crock pot back down to low (you don't want crispy herbs!).

After 2-3 hours, when the liquid is a nice green (see pictured), you can turn off the crock pot and transfer your liquid (carefully!). You can strain through a colander, into your jar OR place your jar in a bowl and carefully pour salve straight from pot into jar, squeezing (cooled!) herbs out with your fingers, so you get every last drop!

Let your jar cool at room temperature (see how lovely green it is!?). If it's the summer, you'll probably want to pop this is the refrigerator for a couple of hours so it can harden up. If it's the winter, it may be so cold in your house that it does that anyway, or you can place it outside for a bit to cool it down and stiffen it up!

After you get it to harden, let it sit back out for about 30 minutes. I know, I know, hot, cold, hot cold, but listen carefully- once you got that initial hardening, you're good to go. I keep my salve in my bedroom, because it's the coldest room in the house, and my salve stays soft but never turns to liquid. It's always perfect and ready to use.

Notes

Salves should be stored in a cool place, preferably 72 degrees so that it doesn't go liquid again. If, for some reason, it does, just place it back in the fridge for a few minutes. If you store this salve properly, it should last you 2-3 months.

By Randi (BeautifullyBohemian.com)

Beautifully Bohemian https://www.beautifullybohemian.com/wordpress/

Thank you for taking time for your health and happiness today! If you’ve made this recipe, I’d love to hear your results below!

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I'd like to receive the free email course. DAMN THE SPAM! Your privacy is important and the email you provide is under lock and key! Powered by ConvertKit

I believe that everyone has the ability to enjoy a simple and healthy life, using PLANTS as the magic ingredient anyone can afford. (No skills required and all levels welcome!) That’s why I’m dedicated to providing you with the BEST plant-based recipes and remedies. I want to give you the tools you can use in your own home, applying easy strategies while saving time and money. I know from personal experience (as a mama of three homeschooled rascals), that you have limited hours and resources, and you need QUICK and PRACTICAL information that you can use right away. So are you ready? #allrightythen

Randi

Though I just began to follow your blog I find it very interesting and useful as a source of knowledge. Thought provoking posts mixed with posts about natural, green living and homeschooling. All these are the reason for my nomination of your blog to the Versatile Blogger Award. Feel free to visit my blog to read more about it. Have a great week 🙂

Randi Tisdall

Hi Michelle, thanks for your questions! The coconut oil is measured by volume- for this recipe I just used one full jar of coconut oil (which is 14 fl oz). As for the consistency, I recommend following the recipe first, and then adjust your next batch if need be. More often than not, home remedies depends on many factors, including quality, temperature, etc., and so it’s hard for me to say without trying first. If you DO decide to lower the coconut oil for this first batch, I’d love to hear your results! Thanks so much and wishing you the best!

Randi Tisdall

Oh no! Sorry to hear that. Of course, the other option is beeswax, but I would only recommend that if you could buy locally from beekeepers who treat their bees well. Meanwhile, I’m going to have to research and see what another option would be:) Hope that helps!

Randi Tisdall

This is just the easy to make natural, multipurpose healing salve I have to have in my natural medicine cabinet. Thank you so much for sharing this DIY Simple Vegan Healing Salve with us at the Plant-based Potluck Party. I’m pinning and sharing this.

Randi Tisdall

Oh my goodness Liz! Thanks for pointing that out- I just fixed it to avoid further confusion. To clarify, the recipe is for fresh plant material, not dried. However, if you would like to use dried, that’s fine, just make sure the herbs are covered by an inch of oil. I hope that helps! Sorry for the mix-up!

Kristy

Hi, Randi! So, I made this and thank you for the recipe, but this recipe in my opinion calls for too much liquid to solid which of course made my “balm” totally liquid after it hardened and was back in room temperature. I just wanted to let you know that because some of us live in warm places. It actually makes sense that that much liquid to solid would stay liquid. I am going to try a different recipe but thanks for posting!

Randi Tisdall

Hi Kristy, I’m sorry your recipe did not turn out well, and thank you for your feedback. I live in the south, and so it does get very hot here in the summer, which was why I included in the storage instructions that it should stay in a cool place, or it will go liquid again. On a standard salve recipe, you’ll want to do 1/4 C of beeswax for every 1 C of oil. Since this is a vegan recipe, using coconut oil (which will harden when cooled) combined with a hefty dose of cocoa butter (which will also harden) gave me the results I needed, without relying on animal products. Again I’m sorry this recipe did not turn out for you, but perhaps in the future you could experiment with different ratios, if you’re willing to give it another go. Cheers!

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Want to Save Time + Get Healthy?

Learn how YOU can be a SMART VEGAN while saving time (and money) with my FREE GUIDE,PLUS get easy vegan recipes and fun announcements in your email inbox when you join the Boho mailing list!

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About Randi Tisdall

I believe that everyone has the ability to enjoy a simple and healthy life, using PLANTS as the magic ingredient anyone can afford. (No skills required and all levels welcome!) That’s why I’m dedicated to providing you with the BEST plant-based recipes and remedies. I want to give you the tools you can use in your own home, applying easy strategies while saving time and money. Read More...